{"id":53069,"date":"2025-10-17T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=53069"},"modified":"2025-10-17T12:24:40","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T03:24:40","slug":"dark-auctions-demo-offers-a-glimpse-into-a-grim-interactive-drama-where-you-use-peoples-memories-as-currency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/reviews\/dark-auctions-demo-offers-a-glimpse-into-a-grim-interactive-drama-where-you-use-peoples-memories-as-currency\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark Auction\u2019s demo offers a glimpse into a grim interactive drama where you use people\u2019s memories as currency\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Izanagi Games, a Japanese studio known for its Dyschronia visual novel series and <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20240306-28138\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AMEDAMA<\/a>, has teamed up with publisher Good Smile Company (yes, the same one that makes your favorite anime figures) for its latest project <strong>Dark Auction<\/strong>. Set in 1981 in Europe, the game\u2019s prologue is currently available to play as a free demo on Steam.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Dark Auction - Story, Mystery &amp; Bidding Trailer\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9181j4NedQk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>After his father Leonard fails to return home after three days, protagonist Noah Crawford travels to the mysterious Geheimnis Castle to look for him. As it turns out, Leonard was a participant of the titular Dark Auction being held there before he went missing. A series of unfortunate events lead Noah, who gets trapped in the castle, to take his father\u2019s place.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The real draw of Dark Auction is its story. Written by Another Code and <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/hotel-dusk-room-215-authors-new-mystery-adventure-dark-auction-coming-to-the-west-in-january-2026-free-demo-out-now\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hotel Dusk: Room 215 author Rika Suzuki<\/a>, the narrative pulls you into the web of mysteries surrounding the Geheimnis Castle and its denizens. As the game&#8217;s events unfold and Noah learns more about his situation, his inner thoughts (visualized through the game\u2019s Word Cloud system) get updated with new information.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1349\" height=\"760\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1349px) 100vw, 1349px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-001.jpg\" alt=\"Dark Auction Word Cloud system\" class=\"wp-image-53071\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-001.jpg 1349w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-001-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-001-768x433.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While the game\u2019s description reads that you can use the keywords in your Word Cloud in conjunction with a memory-replay device known as an EPO to bid on items in the Dark Auction, the free demo unfortunately doesn\u2019t include the feature. Instead, the final segment has you filling in the blanks of Noah\u2019s memory with the correct stored words. Think of it like an end-of-term test that checks if you&#8217;ve been paying attention to the story.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1348\" height=\"754\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1348px) 100vw, 1348px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-002.jpg\" alt=\"Dark Auction exploration\" class=\"wp-image-53072\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-002.jpg 1348w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-002-380x213.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-002-768x430.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from the Word Cloud, the Dark Auction demo has you partaking in some light exploration, puzzle solving, and dialogue choices.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Exploration is limited to two floors, and the controls feel similar to other first-person games. While you have the option to remap your controls, they can be quite finicky. That said, Dark Auction is best played solely on a keyboard, as using a mouse to move the camera seems to be directly tied to a four-button navigation system.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1353\" height=\"755\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1353px) 100vw, 1353px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-003.jpg\" alt=\"Dark Auction lock puzzle\" class=\"wp-image-53073\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-003.jpg 1353w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-003-380x212.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-003-768x429.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to puzzles, the Geheimnis Castle is full of locked doors and floor-specific keys, requiring you to search for the correct items to unlock them. While there aren\u2019t many puzzles in the demo, the number of floors and locked doors gives you a taste of what\u2019s to come.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1346\" height=\"758\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1346px) 100vw, 1346px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-004.jpg\" alt=\"Dark Auction dialogue choices\" class=\"wp-image-53075\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-004.jpg 1346w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-004-380x214.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-004-768x432.jpg 768w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Rounding out Dark Auction\u2019s gameplay are its dialogue choices, which are directly tied to the storytelling. The choices you make don\u2019t have any \u201creal\u201d consequences (at least as far as the demo goes). Choosing the \u201cwrong\u201d option triggers a string of dialogue that leads to the \u201ccorrect\u201d choice, so it doesn\u2019t seem like you\u2019ll miss out on any important story events or decisions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a blend of 3D and 2D art reminiscent of games like Persona 5 (the character designs were made by Gangsta author\/illustrator Kohske) and a dark mystery focused on the titular auction and its participants, Dark Auction feels more like an interactive drama than a visual novel. If the full release builds upon the tension and gameplay systems introduced in the demo, those looking for a unique story will have something to look forward to.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dark Auction is set to release on January 29, 2026 for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and PC (<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2363180\/Dark_Auction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>).&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Impressions of the free demo for Dark Auction &#8211; a new mystery visual novel from the author of Hotel Dusk: Room 215.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":53076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-53069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dark Auction\u2019s demo offers a glimpse into a grim interactive drama where you use people\u2019s memories as currency\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Impressions on the free demo for Dark Auction - a new mystery visual novel from the author of Hotel Dusk: Room 215.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/reviews\/dark-auctions-demo-offers-a-glimpse-into-a-grim-interactive-drama-where-you-use-peoples-memories-as-currency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dark Auction\u2019s demo offers a glimpse into a grim interactive drama where you use people\u2019s memories as currency\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Impressions on the free demo for Dark Auction - a new mystery visual novel from the author of Hotel Dusk: Room 215.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/reviews\/dark-auctions-demo-offers-a-glimpse-into-a-grim-interactive-drama-where-you-use-peoples-memories-as-currency\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-17T14:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20251017-53069-header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1349\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"755\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carlos &quot;Zoto&quot; 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